Segun Akanni, Toronto, Canada 
The All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu yesterday called on the government to initiate economic relief for Nigerians saying the country risks deep economic contraction that will prove difficult to cure in the face of the coronavirus induced shutdown.
He said if the restrictive public health measures must continue, people would need economic relief to survive. He pointed out that implementing the Trader-moni and other programs would only help many small-scale traders but not the average wage earner who just lost his job, saying many families are hungry because of the “skyrocketing” unemployment.
“If we do not take additional steps to stimulate the economy and answer the demand for food, we risk a deep economic contraction that will prove difficult to cure. “The worst of this dark potential can be avoided if government is prepared to act in ways that not only feeds people but protects the basic contours of our private-sector economy so that it can more quickly revive once normal conditions return,” he said.
Tinubu in his coronavirus economic stimulus position statement advocated emergency sustenance relief payments to Nigerian households especially the unemployed via cash payments.
He also called for direct payment to individual accounts using their Biometric Verification Number (BVN). He stated that the stipend for every household should be enough to pay for the monthly needs of an “average” household for food and other basics.
He also called for some form of payroll support to companies and businesses that seek to retain workers “albeit they may not be fully employed.”
